Abstract

The caselet highlights the pesticide controversy that Cola majors faced in 2003. It describes the New Delhi-based environmental group, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) report that put the entire soft drink industry in a bad light. The report claimed that its laboratory tests had discovered that most soft drinks sold in India were contaminated with large doses of pesticides like Lindane, DDT, Chlorpyrifos, and Malathion. The caselet provides a detailed account of how Cola majors overcame this crisis through the use of various marketing communication tools.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Crisis management in marketing management
• Role of public relations in crisis management
• Influence of political and legal environment on marketing strategy
• and Ethical issues in marketing management.

Keywords

Cola Majors, Coke, Pepsi, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), Soft Drinks, Lindane, DDT, Chlorpyrifos, Malathion, Pesticides, Indian Parliament, Press Ads, Wait-and-Watch Approach, Joint Parliamentary Committee, Sushma Swaraj, Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore, Central Food Laboratory (CFL), Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA), European Union (EU) Standards, Lok Sabha, Sunita Narain, Sunil Gupta, 'Recharge its Connect', Shashi K. Kalathil, Brand Equity, Consumer's Mind, 'Thanda' Series, Shah Rukh Khan and Sachin Tendulkar